$899 MacBook not coming after all

Beyond all of the chasing that we have done today to run down the possibilities of what is going on with the MacBook Air, we have also been requesting pricing updates from our spies in the shadows; and it now seems that the $899 MacBook price is almost certainly around the corner.

The move by Apple to play in the lower end of the notebook pool could be a sign that they believe they need to make a bigger effort to reach more people and at the same time to destroy the perception that all Apple products are overpriced.

While we can’t get our shadow dwellers to confirm what kind of configuration that $899 will buy you in a MacBook, as they fear reprisals from the Jobs Squad, we do know that new $899 configuration will be available right away at all of the usual Apple sales outlets.

The $899 MacBook should be a strong seller for Apple this holiday season, but with almost a $400 price gap between the $899 model and the next one up the food chain we have to wonder what kind of configuration will be available for this price. It could be a sales tactic that we have seen Apple employ in the past, but we suspect that the $899 model will turn out to be a more under powered, stripped down version that will be suitable for the needs of many consumers. We let you know the full details later today.
Update:

Our sources now claim Apple will not announce an $899 MacBook, in fact, Apple will increase the price of the $999 unit to $1099, but include several additional features. Unfortunately, a cheaper version is still nowhere in sight.

The only product to launch at the $899 price point will be a 24-inch DisplayPort screen. The 17-inch MacBook will just get a slight refresh and a bit more muscle on the hardware side.